Religious values have been directly linked to growth of capitalism

‘Religion key factor in US foreign policy’ Walter Russell Mead Daily Times

LAHORE: “Religion is the basic component of US foreign policy,” Walter Russell Mead, a US foreign policy expert said. He was speaking on ‘How the US Foreign Policy has changed the World?’ at the Chapel Hall, Forman Christian College.

He said it was the general perception that the US was a secular cum liberal state, but it was not right. He said religion had always been an integral part of the US from the day one. He said the importance of religion was identified in all cultures, existing in the US and it has been giving importance to Anglo- protestant values. In the US, he said, religious values have been directly linked to growth of capitalism.

He said nowadays only those religions were progressing which supported capitalism. He said at this time the follower of the Abrahamic religions; Muslims, Christians and Jews were growing across the world, but it was a tragedy that these religions have been fighting each other. He said the followers of these religions should cooperate with each other regarding development. He criticised the concept of the clash of civilisations, saying that these three religions have no clash, as their foundation was the same.

Organiser of the lecture, Dr Saeed Shafqat, Centre for Public Policy and Governance (CPPG), said the basic purpose of organising this talk was to educate the people about the importance of religion in US foreign policy. He said, “We have selected Walter Russell Mead for the lecture as he is Henry A Kissinger senior fellow for US foreign policy at the council on foreign relations. Professors and intellectuals from various institutions attended the lecture and they asked questions on the topic from the speaker on the occasion. staff report